First-year and teachers new to the school district began a two-day boot camp Thursday morning at Dunbar High School.

Pruitt said up to 400 teachers will participate in the training and go over a variety of issues ranging from ethics to classroom management. She said a goal of the training is to prepare teachers for the first day of school.

"The first day sets the tone, and so if you are prepared to do that, it really sets you up to have a successful school year," Pruitt said.

Pruitt(Photo11: Special to The News-Press)

Caitlin Hughes, 22, is one of the district's new teachers. When school starts, she will be a first-grade teacher at James Stephens International Academy.

Hughes said she has wanted to be a teacher since she was about 4 or 5 years old. She said her late grandmother was a teacher and that some relatives are professors.

"I think it's sort of a familia thing going into teaching, but I just love being able to help kids and work with them every day," said Hughes, a Florida Gulf Coast University graduate.

She said the district has found some recruiting success through holding virtual career fairs. Pruitt said the online fairs allow the district to recruit in areas it can't travel to.

"As you have seen around the country, where there has been dissension in some states, we were able to virtually go into those states and into those counties where teachers seemed to not be happy and say, 'Don't you want to come to the beach?'" Pruitt said.

Andrew Yunezis, 45, is joining the Lee County school district as a teacher after spending 20 years as a business executive.

"I decided that after a couple of decades that I wanted to start doing something that was giving back, something to improve the lives of others," he said. "I couldn't find a better thing to do than to help mold and shape kids in a positive way, hopefully."

Yunezis said making the career switch has been a little scary but that he can't wait to finish training and start teaching on a full-time basis.

"I have spent hardly any time in the classroom," he said. "I did sub for a little bit. I just can already tell from the warmth and everything I felt from the district folks it's a great move for me."